STEPHEN’S SERMON
Part 2
Acts 7:44-60
I. The Complaint against Stephen
A. He speaks against “this Holy Place” Acts 6:13
1. Answered in 7:33
2. Answered in 7:48-50
“This neat little hold you think you have on God, this little thing that makes God Jewish and not the God of the Gentiles as well, is a corrupt thing, and it is corrupting you.
If you were faithful to your tradition,
If you were guided by what your Scriptures tell you, you would know that God is the God of all people and that you just because you have been given special privileges, have the enormous responsibility of being a witness to them.” - James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000)
Jesus, where ‘ere Thy people meet
There behold Thy Mercy Seat
Where ‘ere they seek Thee,
Thou art found
And every place is hallowed ground
- William Cowper (1731-1800)
B. He speaks against the Law
- Answered in 7:53
C. That he would alter the Customs which Moses handed down
- Answered in verses 37-43
II. The Errors of Stephen’s Accusers
A. They read the Bible selectively
B. They could not find themselves in Scripture
Matthew 23:29-39
C. They could not find the Messiah in their Generation
Acts 7:37
D. Their God was too small
Acts 7:49-50
III. The Conviction of Stephen’s Accusers v. 54
A. They were cut to the quick v. 54
Hebrews 4:12
B. Thomas Manton (1620-1677) on Preaching that Convicts:
1. The best preaching wounds the heart;
it is for the glory of God and for the good of souls.
Pleasing things which tickle the ear
are more becoming the stage than the pulpit.
2. Better to awaken the conscience
than to please the ear.
3. The preacher who loves you best is the preacher
who wounds your soul. He will make you say,
not “How well he preached,” but, rather, “How ill I have lived.”
4. Is it not better that you should be troubled in your sleep than to awake in flames?
5. The world cannot endure masculine, sound preaching.
6. We must not be displeased when someone deals faithfully with our souls.
7. The point is not to hide behind generalities or to shoot the arrow into the air.
Right preaching presses the sword point into the breast of the sinner. The gun is pointed at the face.
IV. The Guilt of Stephen’s Accusers vv. 51-60
A. Their Religion was External v. 51
B. They always resisted the Holy Spirit v. 51
C. They themselves broke the Law vv. 52, 58-60
D. They themselves destroyed the Tabernacle vv. 55-60